When MillerCoors split with longtime agency of record Cavalry, launched a review, signed 72andSunny and then fired its head of brand marketing, we assumed that subsequent campaigns would mark a departure from the mostly humorous work of previous years.
We were correct.
72’s first spot for the beer giant, “Whatever Your Mountain,” launched earlier this week.
The idea here is that Coors Light helps inspire viewers to achieve their life goals no matter what the challenges might be–or what demographic they might belong to.
“Every climb deserves a refreshing finish.” It reminds us of the old Miller Lite subway ads with images of people working out, though this one positions the beer more explicitly as a reward for exercise or work-related activity.
Of course, you noticed the presence of female athletes in this spot.
MillerCoors reps got explicit about that in a recent New York Times story, with CMO David Kroll saying it’s “Disappointing that we weren’t speaking to women. The thought of being fully inclusive to women, when you speak to millennials, they’re like, ‘Yeah, duh.'”
The larger campaign is called “Climb On,” and 72andSunny ECD Jason Norcross told our colleague today that the work is about “making [Coors] stand for an idea even bigger than the category.”
This all comes from research showing that women make up a growing share of the beer drinking population. The same studies also show that those women are even more likely than bros to prefer craft beers to light lagers–but that fact obviously won’t stop Coors or Bud Light from trying to woo them with the usual products.